Boards

Boards

LETTER TO THE CONGREGATION

LETTER TO THE CONGREGATION

December, 2016

Dear St. John’s Members:

As we move out of the Thanksgiving holiday, begin the season of Advent and approach the celebration of Christmas and the end of another year, many of us take time to reflect on the many blessings that God continues to give to each of us. Many of us also spend time deciding what special year-end gifts we want to make to the various charities we support. As you consider those things this year, please keep St. John’s in mind.

The tremendous efforts that our congregation, pastors and staff make to assure that St. John’s continues in our 150+ year old tradition of clearly proclaiming the true Gospel and properly administering the Sacraments deserve our continuing support. We are the church home of our more than 1,400 members. Through our church, our pastors weekly proclaim the Gospel in its truth and purity and provide the Lord’s Supper to us in Divine Services. Through St. John’s, our pastors continue to baptize our babies, catechize our children, marry our young adults, tend to us in our last days and bury us in the certain hope of eternal life in Christ. Then our church supports our grieving families and friends by being a church home where this circle: weekly Divine Services, special baptism, confirmation, wedding events, and, sadly, funerals, remains and continues. And we are striving to assure that this congregation remains steadfast in our tradition and in those tremendous efforts for another 150 years and beyond. Is that not worth your continuing support?

But there is more. We are providing a quality, and Christ-centered, education to over 130 children in our parochial school. We are providing a nurturing and safe learning experience to another 40 younger children in our Christian pre-school. We are regularly providing social, service and educational opportunities to our children of all ages and all our members through many avenues, like our weekly Sunday School and Sunday and weekday bible classes, our Youth Group, and our various boards and committees. Our building is a beehive of activity from early morning to late most every day.

And, although we are a congregation of firm and long-standing tradition, we are not stuck in a rut. We are anticipating and planning for significant and imminent changes. We know that our pastoral staff will be changing. We are considering adding church and school staff. And we are investigating ways in which our congregation can be more than it now is to our members. With the expansion of personnel and programs will come additional cost. Please remember St. John’s and all that is done here for all of us as you consider your plans for the end of this year and into next year.

May God’s abundant and steadfast blessings continue to flow to all. In His service,

The congregational officers and Council of Deacons of
St. John’s Lutheran Church and School, Corcoran and Maple Grove, Minnesota

St. John's Council of Deacons & Church Boards

In the New Testament and early Church, men were often selected to aid the Pastor in caring for the spritual and physical needs of the congregation (Acts 6:2-6; Timothy 3:8-13; Phillipians 1:1). The word "deacon' means "servant"; as such, the deacon is not like a business executive or corporate head, but is a servant to the congregation modeling himself after his Lord Jesus who came not to be served, but to serve (Matthew 20:25-28).

The Council of Deacons shall consist of twelve (12) Deacons carefully selected according to the guidelines given in God's Word in Timothy 3:8-13 and as specified in the By-Laws. The Congregational Assembly delegates its authority to this council of Deacons to plan and implement the congregation's mission with the Deacons held accountable for their actions as defined in the By-Laws. As such, the men serving as Deacons shall be empowered to represent the congregation in all legal matters. The Council of Deacons shall have the broad authority to act on behalf of of the congregation in all matters except as restricted by the Constitution, the By-Laws, and/or the Congregational Assembly.

Following are brief synopses of current board responsibilities to aid you in understanding the activities of the Deacon Council. If you have concerns/suggestions or would like to serve on a board, please contact one of the pastors or current Deacons.

Please keep the Deacons and board members in your prayers. Pray often that they may have wisdom in the execution of their duties, wisdom that comes only from our Triune God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

The Deacon Chairman is tasked to be aware of the needs of the congregation and to present these needs to the responsible boards. He is responsible for chairing the Deacon Council meetings in an open and efficient manner and to be of service to the boards in the execution of their duties. He also works with the Congregational President to maintain a healthy relationship between the Congregational Assembly and the Deacon Council.

The Deacon Secretary is charged with keeping complete and accurate minutes of our Deacon Council meetings, and publishing them. He also compiles a roster of Deacons and board members and is in charge of maintaining board manuals.

BOA is responsible for all financial aspects of the congregation. This responsibility includes the Compensation Committee (salaries/benefits), budget compilation and adherence, along with monthly, quarterly and yearly financial reporting. This board works closely with the church treasurer.

The board of Properties & Grounds is tasked with the maintenance, repair and improvement of St. John’s buildings and grounds. Also included are snow removal, lawn maintenance and landscaping activities.

SEWAC is tasked with setting service times, and training/scheduling ushers and worship assistants. They research mission opportunities for St. Johns and work with our pastors to assimilate new members.

The Tech Board is responsible for all the computers, computer network and classroom technology used at St. Johns. This board’s responsibilities also include the sound systems at St. Johns, the church/school website, and other aspects of information technology (IT).